Undercover drug trafficking operation targets violent Tacoma street gang

Following an 18-month undercover drug trafficking operation, federal, state, and local law enforcement officials arrested 15 people associated with a violent Tacoma street gang known as the Knockout Crips.

Investigators said the gang has been a fixture in Tacoma for two decades and has been responsible for crime, drugs, and violence, including drive-by shootings in Pierce County.

“The Knockout Crips is a transnational criminal organization whose illicit activity posed a significant threat to public safety in the greater Tacoma area,” Colin Jackson with Homeland Security Investigations said.

Investigators utilize two-month-long wiretap into Tacoma gang

Investigators said they utilized a two-month-long wiretap to gather information on the gang and how its members moved large quantities of fentanyl.

“A violent drug organization that sold and moved thousands of fentanyl pills at any given time. Drugs that were destined for the streets of Tacoma,” Tom Woods with the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

Prosecutors alleged gang members recruited women couriers to bring drugs in their checked luggage from Arizona through the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, to the streets of the greater Tacoma area.

Couriers would bring drugs in their checked luggage from Arizona through the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. These drugs were seized during the undercover operation. (Photo courtesy of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington)

15 people arrested, guns, drugs seized

Along with more than 100 pounds of drugs, 23 handguns were also seized, many of them stolen.

“They were armed, involved in shootings, and peddled the most dangerous of narcotics, all while risking the lives of those around them for power and money,” Jackson said.

With 15 people arrested and so many guns off the street, investigators said the streets of Tacoma are safer.

“Twenty-three weapons, those are off the street, and some of these violent individuals are off the street, no longer able to engage in the assaults, the drive-by shootings, and the other violent activities,” Jackson said.

Charges include conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and illegal weapons possession.

The FBI noted it is an ongoing investigation, and more arrests are possible.

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